Mother’s Day “Walk Against Cancer”

Brave breezes whipped around the Alviso Marina County Park, on Mother’s Day weekend. The park is the new venue for the Latinas Contra Cancer major annual fund raising event, “Walk Against Cancer”, that raises awareness in the Latino community around issues of cancer. The participants walk 3 miles from the Alviso Marina through Alviso for a commemoration of those who lost their battle and a celebration of survivorship.

The event featured many booths with health resources, give-aways, musical entertainment, a bike raffle, free kayak rides and the Prevent Cancer SuperColon was onsite to raise awareness and spotlight Colorectal Cancer in the Latino community. Dave Cortese, County Supervisor, was the starter for the walk and is an ongoing advocate of the work Latinas Contra Cancer does in the community. This California non-profit was founded in 2004 by Ysabel Duron, a San Francisco newscaster and cancer survivor. Since then they have worked to increase access to quality care, to decrease mortality and improve the quality of the health care experience. They also provide education and outreach services and partner with health care institutions to bridge the gap through culturally competent outreach and medical care. Ms. Duron comments that, “Talking about cancer won’t kill us, the silence will. We confront this deadly disease very publicly to give support and inspire hope.”